Hosiery repair apparatus



Aug. 2, 1955 L. ARGENTIN ANDRE 2,714,297

HOSIERY REPAIR APPARATUS Filed June 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 49 47 I I1 (6 20 37 fimlllm !WW 1! i i 6 0 24 22 46 /n yen (or Z ucvan 0 A. findr'e "8- 1955 L. ARGENTIN ANDRE HOSIERY REPAIR APPARATUS 2 sheets sheet2 Filed June 25, 1952 A 1A n United tates Patent 0 HOSIERY REPAIRAPPARATUS Luciano Argentin Andre, Mexico City, Mexico Application June25, 1952, Serial No. 295,510

2 Claims. (Cl. 66 1,5)

The present invention is related in general to mechani cal apparatus,devices, or accessories, and especially to small machines for reloopingruns in womens stockings, and refers more particularly to a novel,useful and very practical improved apparatus for relooping hosiery,which apparatus provides great and very appreciable advantages oversimilar apparatus used and known heretofore.

The small machines or apparatus for relooping the runs frequentlyoccurring in fine ladies stockings are well known, but said apparatusmust be operated manually with a constant effort of the hand or, rather,of the wrist, so that after the operators have been working with themfor a number of hours, the task becomes exhausting and frankly verypainful. The improved apparatus of my invention tends to remedy thisserious drawback, eliminating 75% of the work required of the operatorand almost all the manual effort.

Briefly stated, the apparatus of the invention comprises a pneumaticpump adaptable to any sewing machine on the part to which the needle issecured and which has a vertical movement, said pump being provided withits corresponding ball valve and air regulator. Said pneumatic pumptransmits compressed air through a flexible tube or conduit, especiallyof very flexible rubber, leading to another small pump to the piston ofwhich is adapted a part for holding the needle which performs therelooping. Said piston is provided with a spring the resistance of whichovercomes the piston thrust and with a similar smaller spring which actsas a shock absorber.

Thus, as the sewing machine or any other mechanical drive transmits, bymeans of its mechanical movement, a reciprocating movement to the pistonof the larger pneumatic pump, the latter in turn transmits movement tothe smaller pump connected thereto, furnishing an up-and-down movementto its piston and accordingly to the needle secured to the end of saidpiston by means of an appropriate device, so that the operator needexert no effort whatsoever to push through the relooping needle and onlyhas to guide said needle along the run to be repaired.

As will easily be understood, the present apparatus has two veryimportant basic advantages: The first is that it can be adapted to anysewing machine to furnish the power and reciprocating movement requiredfor operation of the needle; and the second is that there is provided anapparatus having an automatic movement which eliminates the effort whichmust be exerted by the hand in all similar apparatus used and knownheretofore, thus simplifying to the minimum the operative work andrelieving to a large extent the exhausting nature of the work performedby the operators during a day of work. Furthermore, it can be adapted toany type of machine with a minor change in the clamp bar, both toelectric and pedal-operated sewing machines, without using any tool. Itsperformance is far more perfect than that of any of the manuallyoperated machines used and known heretofore, in addition to which itsefiiciency is greater and its output also is greater. They areappreciably more economical than the manual machines previously knownand used, and far more simple to operate than said manual devices. Thedevice of the invention is of a very small size and so light in weightthat it can even be carried in a pocket.

These and other advantages, features and details of the automaticapparatus of my invention, together with features distinguishing it fromknown devices, will become clearly evident in the course of thefollowing description as likewise in the drawings attached inillustration thereof, the same reference numbers having been used insaid drawings to indicate the same parts in the five figures shown.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of an automatic apparatus for reloopingstockings, constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view and projection of the same apparatus illustratedin the preceding figure, the flexible conductor tube, uniting the twoelements which substantially constitute said apparatus, being shown ascut.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus of the invention, similar tothat shown in Fig. l, but almost wholly in longitudinal section alongeach of its parts, for the purpose of illustrating the parts which formsaid apparatus and the internal arrangement thereof.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the piston and needle carrier of thesmaller pump, guided by hand; and

Fig. 5 is likewise an elevational view of the part constituting theshock absorber of said piston.

Before describing in detail the improved apparatus for reloopinghosiery, of my invention, I wish it to be clearly understood that thedrawings illustrate only by way of example one of the preferred forms ofcarrying out the invention, without said invention being limited to thespecific details illustrated in the drawings and described in thefollowing specification or description. Recourse may therefore be had tosuch variations and modifications as may become or be considerednecessary or convenient in practice, without departing from theprinciples and scope of the invention and within the scope of the claimsannexed hereto. For example, it is obvious that the part serving as asupport for the pneumatic pump may be varied or changed according to thetype of sewing machine to which it be adapted or to the mechanicalmovement transmitted to its piston; likewise the control bar of thepiston may be changed for the same reasons.

As illustrated in the attached drawings, the apparatus consistssubstantially of two principal elements united and connected by a smallflexible tube, said elements being a pneumatic pump which transmitscompressed air to another similar but smaller pump, with the loopingneedle adapted to the end of its piston. The pneumatic compressed-airpump comprises a metal tube 10, the approximate dimensions of which are,enunciatively and not restrictively, 25 mm. in diameter and 75 mm. inlength, said metal tube constituting the body of the compressed airpump. At one of its ends (the lower as seen in the drawing), it isprovided with a metal plug 11 (Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings), in whichthere is adapted a ball valve 12, for the absorption of air, and aspecial screw 13 which acts as a jet for regulating the air pressure, sothat if it is closed, eitherthe maximum air pressure can be utilized orthe escape of part of the pressure allowed to reduce the same, as willappear later. Near the lower edge of tube 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3of the drawings, there is a small metallic tube 14, for the outlet ofcompressed air by means of piston 15 (Fig. 3) which moves tightly withintube 10 and is driven by rod 16. Said piston 15 is provided with andcarries attached to its under surface a box-shaped packing 1'7, insidewhich is fitted the perforated disc or washer 18. Packing 17 and washer18 are adjusted to piston by means of screw 19, as shown clearly in Fig.3 of the drawings.

At the opposite end of tube 10 (the upper end in the drawings) ismounted annular attachment part 253, which is pressure-adjusted by meansof screw 21 (Fig. 2). Said annular pressure part has an extension 22,provided with bore 23, which is adjusted by means of screw 24. Thisextension 22 permits of connecting the apparatus wherever may be mostconvenient, but principally to a sewing machine as, for example, to thefixed bar on the front portion of a sewing machine.

The said piston 15 is operated, as aforestated, by a small connectingrod 16, having ball-shaped ends 25 and 26. Ball 26 is lodged with somedegree of clearance with respect to piston 15, said connecting rod 16projecting through bore 27, whereas upper ball 25 is lodged in a smallbar 28 (approximate dimension, 50 mm.) provided on its front end with ascrew 29 having a bored head 30. This bar 28 can be adapted, by means ofits screw 29-30, to the movable part of the sewing machine, that is tothe part to which the needle is adapted, which moves vertically up anddown. In this manner the sewing machine transmits a vertical up-and-downmovement to bar 28, connecting-rod 16 and piston 15, for compressing theair inside tube 10, which air is fed or absorbed by means of ball valve12 and expelled through tube 14. In other words, the sewing machinesupplies to part 28, a vertical up-and-down movement which said part inturn transmits to connecting rod 16 and succesu sively to piston 15,which functions to compress the air inside tube 10, absorbed by saidtube during its upward stroke by means of valve 12, injecting thiscompressed air during its downstroke through tube 15 adapted to plug 11and communicating with the inside of tube 10.

Tube 14 injects the compressed air, by means of flexible tube 30(preferably of rubber), to the other device which completes thisapparatus and is described below:

Said device, which completes the apparatus, of the invention, is the onewhich is guided by hand to reloop the damaged article, being held as oneholds a pencil or like article, and consists of a part 31, generallyquadrangular in section, provided with a longitudinal bore 32centrically disposed and a similar bore 33 transversally disposed andconnected to the former. This piece 31, which constitutes the head ofthe manual device, is provided at its end with a tube 34, connected tolongitudinal bore 32, said tube projecting sufficiently to serve as aconnection with flexible tube 30' already mentioned. Said tube 34provides the pneumatic communication between the two devices forming theapparatus. On its opposite end, said head 31 has a threaded portion 35(Fig. 3), to which is screwed a tube or tubular part 36, terminating ina conical shape, as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.piston 37 (Fig. 4 of the drawings), likewise tubular and having athreaded portion on its front end, for receiving screw 38 which secures,together with washer 39, pressure packing 40. Around tubular piston 37there is disposed a spiral spring 41, which acts as an antagonisticspring and the resistance of which overcomes the compressed air passingthrough tube 30 to push piston 37 outwardly, causing a certain portionthereof to project outside of tubular part 36.

Piston 37, which is displaced reciprocatorily or up and down inside saidtubular part 36, is provided with slots 42 (Fig. 4) traversing it fromside to side, which slots 42 limit the stroke of said piston 37.

Inside this tubular part 36 is lodged a Inside piston 37 which, asaforesaid, is tubular, is lodged a small cylinder 43 (Fig. 5), with asmall bore 44 and a spring 45 at its end, said spring acting to damp theshock of the stroke of said piston. Crossing slots 42 and small bore 44is a fine bolt or crosspiece 46, formed as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and3 of the drawings, which small crosspiece 46 also passes into fineperforations made close to the conical end of tubular part 36.

At its outward end, piston 37 has a threaded portion 47 terminating in aconical tube 48 covered with a conical plug 49, which constitutes theneedle-carrying device of the apparatus. To this needle-carrier 49 isadapted and secured any needle of those available on the market forrelooping a stocking stitch article containing a run.

The air compressed by the pneumatic pump inside tube f is conducted byflexible tube 39' to the combination of parts above-described, whichconstitute the manual device of the present apparatus; so that uponcovering with a finger the transversal bore 33 in head 31 of said device(which bore constitutes an air exhaust to stop operation of the devicewhen not desired), said compressed air presses against small piston 37which performs its reciprocatory movement with the cooperation of theantagonistic spring 41, said motion being transmitted to the needleadapted to needle-carrier 49, disposed at the end of said piston,whereby such motion allows of picking up the displaced stitches of thestocking or the like, restoring them to their original position.

The screw and washer 50, strategically disposed close to the edge oftube 10 and on the annular fastening piece 20 serve exclusively to avoidany undue displacement of plunger 15, the upper surface of which abutssaid Washer and screw 50.

Having thus described the invention, what I consider as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A relooping tool, comprising a tube provided at one end with anopening and at its opposite end with means having an inlet port foradmission of pulsation of air under pressure and an exhaust port, apiston element mounted in the tube and extending through the opening,said piston element carrying a packing at its lower end and a needleclamp at its upper end, a spring between the packing and a shoulderformed on the interior of the tube, means for limiting the reciprocablemovement of the piston element and cushioning the shock including slotsin the piston element, a pin secured in the tube and extending throughthe slots, a plug mounted on the pin, and a spring in the piston elementbetween a shoulder therein and the plug.

2. A relooping tool, as defined in claim 1, wherein the inlet port andthe exit port are formed in a plug inserted in the tube, the exit portbeing open for application of the finger of the operator to control themovement of the piston element.

France Sept. 19, 1938

